Lancelot Lowther, 6th Earl of Lonsdale

Lancelot Edward Lowther, 6th Earl of Lonsdale, OBE, DL (25 June 1867 – 11 March 1953) was an English peer, the fourth and youngest son of Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale.

Biography

Lowther was educated at Malvern College[1] and Magdalene College, Cambridge.[2] At Cambridge, he was a member of the University Pitt Club.[3] On 13 October 1886 Lowther was made lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, The Border Regiment (The Royal Cumberland Militia).[4]

Soon thereafter, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant in the counties his family had traditionally dominated, Cumberland (21 November 1891[5]) and Westmorland (26 January 1892[6]). In keeping with the family tradition, he enjoyed sports and, by 1905, was a Master of the Drag (drag hunting) and the Deputy Master of the Quorn.[7]

During World War I, he served in the Middle East, and after the war received the OBE (3 June 1919[8]) and the Order of the Nile, 4th Class (16 January 1920[9]). On 3 June 1922, the aging Lowther, now 55, resigned his deputy lieutenancy of Westmorland.[10]

In 1944, he finally succeeded to the Earldom of Lonsdale on the death of his childless brother, Hugh. Hugh's free-spending, sporting life had largely wrecked the estate, and he was forced to auction off the contents of Lowther Castle in 1947. This proved to be the largest English country house sale of the 20th Century.[11]

Marriages & Family

On 24 April 1889, Lonsdale married Gwendoline Sophia Alice Sheffield (born 1869, died 4 November 1921), daughter of Sir Robert Sheffield, 5th Baronet, with whom he had three children:[12]

His first wife, Gwendoline, having died in 1921, Lonsdale married Sybil Beatrix Feetham on 8 October 1923. They had one son together:

  • Hon Timothy Lancelot Lowther (born 27 April 1925, died 1984)

Lonsdale's eldest son Anthony predeceased him in 1949. Lord Lonsdale died in 1953 and was succeeded in the earldom by his grandson James. The Countess of Lonsdale died on 10 March 1966.[13]

References
  1. Lowther, Hon. Lancelot Edward. The Malvern register, 1865-1904 (1905). p. 181.
  2. "Lowther, the Hon. Lancelot Edward (LWTR885LE)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  3. Fletcher, Walter Morley (2011) [1935]. The University Pitt Club: 1835-1935 (First Paperback ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-107-60006-5.
  4. The London Gazette, issue 25638, 29 October 1886
  5. The London Gazette, issue 26225, 20 November 1891
  6. The London Gazette, issue 26250, 26 January 1892
  7. The Malvern register, 1865-1904 (1905)
  8. The London Gazette, issue 31684, 9 December 1919
  9. The London Gazette, issue 31736, 13 January 1920
  10. The London Gazette, issue 32719, 13 June 1922
  11. "Lowther Castle". Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2007.
  12. The Peerage, entry for 6th Earl of Lonsdale
  13. The Peerage, entry for Sybil Feetham
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